Coaching

Team coaching

Team coaching is similar to executive coaching except that it is about new possibilities for a team rather than for an individual. Plus, it may require giving attention to teamwork.

Executive coaching

Coaching is about creating a new frame around our current circumstances. To illustrate, years ago, Bata Shoes sent two marketing scouts to Africa to assess the prospects. One came back saying its hopeless, no one wears shoes. The other came back full of enthusiasm: great opportunity, they have no shoes.

Coaching begins with acknowledging who we are, our passions, our strengths and needs. To facilitate this, we offer a 360 feedback with questions aligned to our leadership framework.

The second and more challenging step is to envision and embrace a new possibility. This is not unlike searching to join the nine points in the adjacent diagram with 4 straight lines without lifting your pen from the paper (assuming you have never played this game before). By embracing it we mean thinking, talking and acting as if you already own the new possibility or are living as if you are already there. It's like the addict thinking, talking and acting as if s/he is no longer an addict.

The third and final step is to establish and implement an action plan. It's about embracing and internalizing a new way of thinking, talking and acting. It's about stepping into the world of a new possibility. It's about moving from sitting and talking to getting on the ice and scoring goals. The role of the coach is like that of a conductor: to help the players play better and get through the tough spots. The coach is there to remind us not to take ourselves so seriously and to accept the way things are. The coach is there to help us catch more and / or different fish.